The NightDream
by swolf13
Summary: Born as a nightmare an raised by dreams. Being an outcast isn't easy. Specially the leader of a band of rebel misfits. We have stayed as a secret, but not for much longer. Both sides know of us, but they don't know all they think they do. There is more to us than one could ever simply see.
1. The Circus through a Fearling's eyes

_**A new story for the new movie, Rise of the Guardians. I hope you like it. I was amazed at the fact that there was a spot for it before the movie came out. This story introduces my OC's. Send me your thoughts. Takes place a year after Pitch's defeat. :)**_

I sat at the edge of Golden Meadow, just below Hangman's Tree. This was the only place that the sun actually reached in our somber forest. The wind was chilly, probably thanks to Tornado and some of her pack, as it fluttered around some leaves. These were of a rusty orange-red color as they flew in the crisp autumn air, bringing the sweet smell of pumpkin pies and spices. It was nice and serene. Peaceful, an adjective rarely used for this place. Though, it hadn't always been like this. And it wouldn't stay like this for long. Something is wrong. The air and sky may be pleasant, but it can't hide everything.

Something isn't right. I don't have the time to look for an answer now. The sun was sinking. This means that the moon would come out. I wouldn't like to be seen by him. The Man in the Moon. What Nightmare in their right mind would? I've kept myself and my friends as a secret from him for far too long. I'm not going to let that be spoiled because 'MiM' saw us and told us off to the other Guardians. We all have had more than our fair share of time with the Dreams. We are not going back there again. Not ever in our immortal lives.

I then remembered, there was no moon tonight. It was a new moon. I let my trademark smirk adorn my face as I crept back to our home. Not even the greatest and most powerful guardian can watch over the world at all times.

There might be no moon tonight, but the show doesn't stop with it. "Ready up guys! We've got work to do." I called to my friends as I entered our really big house. It was a two story house that we somehow managed to build on our own. As I headed for my room, on the second floor to the farthest corner, my friends scurried to theirs for the last minute preparations.

I got into my room. It was pretty average. A twin sized bed, a desk, a closet and a nightstand. My guitar was in one of the corners and a house of cards that was half-built on my desk. I quickly opened the closet and got out my clothes for the show.

Black jeans skinny jeans and boots, check. Long-sleeved white shirt and blue trench coat, done. As a last touch, I put on my black top hat that had an azure ribbon on it and a butterfly of the prettiest blues and oranges. A final look in the mirror and I was ready to go.

"Are you ready?" a chorus of cheers and whoops came from the rest of my friends. I was anxious and excited, I wanted this to start. I loved the feeling that came when I was on stage. It was always fun and thrilling.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Nightmares, spirits or whatever you may be! Be welcome to the Spider and Bat Circus's first October show!" as the words let my mouth, a roar of cheering erupted from the enthusiastic crowd. The music blasted with eerie tunes in the background. The colored light danced across the room with as much fervor and life as a real spirit. This feeling was intoxicating. It was my own drug. No matter how many times I did this, I could never get enough of it. It was exhilarating and incredibly amazing. The circus is probably the biggest part of me. It isn't a job. It's a pleasure that I share with all of my friends. We did it for fun. We never really cared about anything else. I breathed deeply, taking in as much of this feeling as possible. The cheers started to quiet down. This was my cue to continue. _Let the show begin..._

**** Fearling ****

I creep lightly into an area that I'd never known about. The forest was thick. Tall, large trees and shrubbery blocked the entrance for any human, sane or not. Their leafless, bony branches swayed with the cold breeze. The few hoots of owls echoed in the otherwise silent night. In the distant city, children slept. Some peacefully, while others squirmed in fear from their nightmares. To me, the forest seemed welcoming. Without thinking, I crept closer. I stayed hidden as other spirits came in, following an almost invisible trail.

Most of them were young, dark-like spirits. One of them spotted me and I froze. It was a boy. He had black hair and looked to be around eleven years old. I kept still as he came closer to me. "You can come out. The Mistress won't do show if there's a fight. Besides, most of us like or at least are good with Nightmares. We usually don't mind them. Or Fearlings for that matter." the boy's piercing silvery eyes had a dull shine to them. The boy was no Fearling like me. That much is evident, yet, he looks like all Fearlings when they are turned. Like one that is only starting to transform.

I came out, even if a bit reluctantly. The small boy's smile grew faintly as I showed more of myself. No one, aside from my brothers and sisters, had ever smiled at me. Most looked at me with a sickening mix of fear and disgust in their eyes. The one I bowed down to rarely smiled. He would sometimes give us a grin or an encouraging smirk, as telling us we did a good job, though it was very strange to see him smile.

"Come on! The show will start soon and we better get the tickets before they are all sold out!" the boy ran ahead. He had an eagerness that missed the childish innocence that human children hold. It was more maniac and menacing. More demanding. Not out of fear, but rather curiosity, I followed the young boy.

We arrived at a small orange and black booth. The boy asked for two tickets. _Is he paying for me too?_ The girl in the booth gave him the tickets. The boy seized my wrist and ran towards the tent where the show would be held. I was surprised for the second time that evening. No one ever touched me, apart from the Guardians, when we fought last year. Though they didn't treat me with kindness. I was their enemy and I still am. The boy is unlike them. It wasn't exactly kindness, but it was close. The other thing that surprised me, was that he could actually hold me. I was almost a shadow per se. I could easily slip out, but I didn't.

We arrived at the show tent. It was night-black and ghastly light green in color. The darkness of the forest made it more ominous. I was more appealed to enter. More anxious to know. More eager to discover. It felt as if something was willing me inside. My thoughts were messed up. Should I stay, or should I go?

_**Scare! Make nightmares! Scare, scare, scare! Go, go, go! Get out! Scare! No! Stay! Listen! Watch! Shut up, go away! Scare! Later, I want to see! NO, I told you to shut up! You shut up! Lets have fun... Pitch will get mad! It's never nice! He won't. We won't tell him. Bad idea, shut up already! If we go the kid will be sad! If we stay Master will be mad! Stay...go...stay...go...stay...GO!**_

I was about to leave, but the boy had already dragged me inside. Knowing that the decision had already been made, I looked around, taking in my surroundings. Black, silver, ghastly blues and greens filled the room. There would be the occasional splash of crimson blood-like red. It was more colorful than my home, though it was eerily dark and creepy.

Silvery spider webs decorated the ceiling with the ghost blues and greens stitched onto it. The chairs were of the blood-red velvet and the tent itself was a darker than night black. Loud music erupted from the unseen speakers, a spooky tune filling the air. Fog came in, covering the whole arena. As it cleared, a girl appeared on the stage. She was different from any other spirit or human I had ever seen.

The girl started talking, with a voice of sweet darkness and malice. The crowd cheered as she finished, yet I could only stare. She has black pointed ears and a cat-like tail. I could see that she has sharp looking teeth and and claw looking nails. She reminds me of Pitch for some reason. It may have been the way she talked. Or it may be her auburn-gold eyes. These were covered by black, tattoo looking marks. Legate and Pride. Nightmare markings. The girl is a Nightmare.

Now that I took the time to look around, my eyes were opened. All the circus crew members were Nightmares. And everyone's here were dark spirits. All of them were creatures of the night. We're all the same here. I'd never seen a gathering quite like this one. Never had it crossed my mind that Nightmares would be entertaining other people. It was rather... fun. I guess. It wasn't your typical scaring night out, but it had its own amazement.

The show progressed and when I came out, I noticed that it was rather late at night. Listening to the voice from before, I dashed out of the forest, intent on pretending to have been working all this time instead of ditching my chores. Unlucky for me, I was spotted just as I stepped out of the forest.

"You better've found something of use if you don't want to be punished." raising my head, I saw the cold, unforgiving eyes of the Nightmare King himself. I gulped. I am in for huge trouble. "Fearlings don't show or even feel fear." I quickly composed myself and motioned for him to follow me.

We came back into the forest. The spirits that had been in the circus were now coming out, making a parade like exit as they went by. My master was taken aback, a gathering such like this one had never bean heard of. Though he was good at hiding it.

'Spider & Bat Circus' We passed the sign I hadn't noticed before. Pitch raised a curious eyebrow at me. I shrugged and kept on. The nightmare-girl from before came out. A look of disbelief crossed Pitch's face. "Go finish off your chores. Your punishment will be that you won't be able to return until sun-up." his command was absent minded. I was only glad that my punishment for skipping chores wasn't as bad as it could've been.

_**Done for today,**_

_**Gonna hit the sack. Hope you enjoyed and the next chapter will talk more about my OC (the circus master/master of ceremonies)**_

_**~swolf13**_


	2. Deals

As I got out of the tent, after cleaning up and obviously congratulating all of my friends for an outstanding performance as per usual, I decided to finish something I needed to get done. I decided not to go to my room. At the moment it looked messy and I need open spaces to think clearly. Where I was before would be just fine. Perfect, in fact. The tall grass and scattered boulders would make it a secure place with lots of hiding places and the thick trees that bordered it made it almost impossible for prying eyes to see. Besides, I could see the dark night sky and a few twinkling stars. And the moon. Well, only the outline. We weren't in good terms. _Even if he doesn't know I exist._

Once there, I hung my black hat with blue ribbon on a nearby branch that I've been using for that purpose over 200 years and sat down on a crook between two roots of Hangman's Tree. It was the exact same place I was only a while ago. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was about to let myself loose and be dragged into a semi-conscious state of mind, where everything would be clear and yet, I'd be awake enough to know anything happening in my surroundings. I was about to be taken away to the depths of my mind to find the answers I longed for. But, a looming presence made its way into the clearing- _my_ clearing. I could feel its dark essence fill the already somber environment. I opened my eyes to meet identical golden ones stare back at me. To meet the pale grayish toned skin and ebony, spiked up hair of someone I hadn't seen in ages. He gave me his trademark smirk that showed all of his uneven teeth and held out his hand to get up. I took it gladly.

"Good night, my little darkling. How have you been?" I smiled graciously at my old friend. "Great as ever. I haven't seen you in a long time. What's been of you?" Pitch looked down in shame for a moment before he regained his usual, indifferent composure. "Well, while I'm glad that you've been fine, I on the other hand haven't been doing as well." A curious look crossed my face. What's wrong with my friend? "How so? You disappeared into your realm for hundreds of years and only now you come back. What did I miss?" I was curious by nature and not having seen my friend in years made me eager to catch up. "It's rather a long story, dear." I rolled my eyes and gave him a 'you-really-can't-be-serious' look. I wave my hand towards a big, not-as-uncomfortable-as-it-seems boulder. I sat down in my preferred spot, which is between those two thick roots, to prove my point. He took the hint and sat down himself where I'd shown him. "We're immortals. I think that you've got a moment to spare for an old friend." it was Pitch's turn to roll his eyes. As he leaned further into the boulder, his thin hands were placed behind his neck, and his eyes closed. I had a feeling that this story would be longer than I anticipated. _I mean, it's over 250 years that we're catching up on._ He started his tale and even used his Nightmare Sand to make it more livid. It was entrancing. I couldn't use Nightmare Sand like he could, because I never learned to do so. _Maybe I could ask him to teach me later... A_ll my previous thoughts were discarded as Pitch dragged me into a world of wars and hiding that were his past years.

"Guys! I've got something really, really, really-"

"We get the point!" "Important to tell you." the white haired boy ignored the 6'1" rabbit and concluded as if he hadn't interrupted. Squeals and chirps came from the tiny tooth collecting fairies in the room. Their '_mother_', Tooth, as she was called, scolded them with a chuckle for disrespecting the uniform, yet again. "Why so late, Jack? Thought you'd be here half an hour ago." a deep voice with a Russian accent came from a spot near one of the worktables. Golden sand appeared and made the figures of North, Tooth, Bunny and himself looking distressed as they looked at a clock that ticked. "Sorry I'm late, Sandy. You didn't have to worry. I can take care of myself." the teen smiled at the attention and care that the Sandman and the rest of the Guardians showed him. "So, you haven't answered. Why are you late?" North rephrased. "Oh, yeah. I was with Jamie a while a go and I took a '_shortcut_' but I got lost." Jack said with a bluish tinge to his cheeks. "Oh. Okay Jack. By the way, what is it that you wanted to tell us?" it seemed that Tooth was the only one to remember what the boy had said when he came. "That. Well, I came across a forest, so I decided to go through there. It apparently is part of a Nightmare Realm. Like the ones Bunnymund showed me in the walls etched into his warren. Anyways, as I was going there, I saw the Boogeyman." he let his words sink in. They all looked shocked. To say the least. "Did he see you? Are you ok?" Tooth instantly went next to him and fawned over him. She worried over him like any mother would over her child. And that was what he was to her. He was her kid,_ if not by blood, then by her attitude_. "I'm fine, really Tooth. He didn't see me." Jack shoved Tooth away from him stubbly, so as not to hurt her feelings. "Pitch was...he was talking to someone else." now all eyes were on him. No one could bring themselves to say anything. Sandy was the only one who made a question mark over his head, face curious, as if asking who.

"I don't know. I just know that it was a girl for the way he talked and for her voice. I didn't get to see her." North put a hand under his chin with a thoughtful look on his face. "What could Pitch be doing talking with a girl? What were they even talking about?" Bunnymund thought aloud. "She's about sixteen or probably fifteen in the least. I'm guessing that he wanted to strike up a deal with her from what it sounded." Bunny's brows furrowed in concentration. This wasn't a situation to be taken lightly. "What _exactly_ did they _both_ say, Jack? We need to know." Tooth asked the winter sprite quickly. Something about this seemed wrong. Nothing good would come out of it. "It was...I don't know how to describe it really. I didn't get all of the conversation." he answered, disappointedly. "Mate, as long as you tell us all that you remember, I think we'll get something out of it." Bunnymund was fast to speak. No need to waste time. There could be another war looming, and he wanted to be ready for it as soon as possible. "Okay, fine. He said something along the lines of joining him and his army, to defeat us. He didn't mention much of it. Just asked her to join him, and that he'd give her something she wanted in return."

"And what did she say?"

"I didn't understand really. She spoke in riddles, but anyways; '_We could, we would, yet we will not_.' He asked her why. She said '_for it is a matter consistent of position that is bound to secrecy_.' Or something along the lines. It was tricky to memorize." Jack said. All of the Guardians wore the same thoughtful look. By the way it sounded, she'd declined his offer. "There's more. I think it's about the position. She'd said '_Dead men tell no tales. We speak only between ourselves. The one who did the deed it eternally locked, in a greek's legend with ice and spark. That night no light shone, so to the moon's eyes all is unknown._' What it has to do with everything else? I've got no idea. It only sounded important. " well, this certainly didn't make things easier for them. The silence that followed was rather awkward, yet none of them attempted to end it. What was happening?

"She said '_we_', right?" Bunny asked out of the blue. Jack nodded. "Then there's more people involved in this. She said _we_ could. _We_ would. _We_ will not. _We_ only speak between _ourselves_. She never said _I_. It was always in plural." Bunnymund's conclusion confused everyone even more. This only got trickier. "And she also mentioned something else. Something about there being no light in that time. Manny doesn't know!" Tooth had fumbled and repeated the words carefully, trying to find _something_ that could be of use to them. Sandy made a full moon out of his Dream Sand and then another one, but this one was a crescent one, and finally, he made out only the outline of the moon. It had been a new moon then, and MiM hadn't seen what transpired, and neither had they. That shone little light on their current situation. They didn't know what to do now. _Did it even matter? The girl refused, didn't she? Why would it make a difference if they found out more?_ "She could join us instead." North stated, eyes widening in surprise at his own words. "Yes! Like a temporary Guardian! Then, we all could defeat Boogeyman once and for all!" the determination in North's voice was growing. His head was set and nothing would change his mind. "What!?" all the others went wide eyed at his suggestion. "Why not, eh? If Pitch looked for her, he must've known she's got something special. Since she refused, it means she don't like him. We convince her, she joins, we battle, we win!" the joy in St. Nick's voice was unmistakable. Even the others were starting to be convinced that this wasn't such a bad idea. "Fine then. We go there tomorrow, Frostbite shows us where it is. We talk to them and convince them to join us. If they say no, we just keep those ankle-biters outta our way." Bunny said, effectively ending the reunion of the Guardians. They all had work to do. It was nighttime and that meant that the children were asleep. Waiting for sandy's golden dreams, and tiny lovely fairies to collect their teeth and leave prizes. It was October, but that didn't mean that Christmas nor Easter were by all means ready to go. They each took their separate ways. They'd meet again tomorrow, to start their plan. All of their earlier confusion drifted away and disappeared into nothingness.


End file.
